Foot Fashion

There was a blog post on the New York Times website last week by the Frugal Traveler columnist talking about the perfect running shoe. For him, the ideal shoe is something he can wear on a run and out to dinner while traveling.

Since trail running shoes are usually grey or other dark color instead of beaming, tennis-white’s white, they’re more versatile than road running shoes. While traveling, trail running shoes don’t scream: “I’m an American tourist and I just went for a road run!”

I bought my first trail running shoes over 10 years ago for a trip where I was visiting a friend in Chamonix. Prior to that, I had run on trails in my road running shoes. But here I was, heading overseas with a backpack, and wanting to travel minimally...and look cool. I bought trail shoes. They were blue. I felt pretty bad-ass wearing them…like my shoes evoked mystery: With that go-anywhere tread, and color that hides dirt from who knows where, what adventure has she (and her shoes) been on? I wore my blue trail shoes traveling, hiking, running, eating lunch. I felt rugged, adventurous and ready for anything—a 10-mile mountain run in the Alps, or, a beer on the deck of a chalet.

True, we need our shoes to run well. After 10 years of traipsing in a variety of trail running shoes since my beloved blues, I now expect my trail shoes to handle terrain, whether its rocky, loose dirt, slippery roots or flat gravel. I want them to be light enough so I don’t feel like I'm wearing hiking boots, and I want them to fit my feet well—not too wide, not too narrow—and flex where I need them to. And I want them to run smoothly, transitioning seamlessly from heel to toe as I saunter off on trails of all sorts. And I want them to look good.

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